


The City

by Asra_Lover



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Boats and Ships, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Multi, Other, Pre-Canon, World Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-28
Updated: 2020-08-18
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:47:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25573099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Asra_Lover/pseuds/Asra_Lover
Summary: Asra is taking you on one of his adventures for the first time, however something goes horribly wrong.
Relationships: Apprentice & Asra (The Arcana), Apprentice/Asra (The Arcana), Asra (The Arcana) & Reader, Asra (The Arcana)/Reader, Asra (The Arcana)/You
Comments: 4
Kudos: 29





	1. Docked

The boat rocks back and forth gently in the wind, but you don’t mind. You’re too busy working on a spell Asra had taught you the night before that’s supposed to summon fish near you. So far you’ve only gotten a couple guppies to swim your way, but you’re not discouraged, Asra always says that these things take time.

At the front of the sail boat Asra shields his eyes with one hand, looking out over the distant horizon. He’s silent for a minute.

“I think we’re drawing closer to the shore.” He says in his soft voice, turning back to you. He smiles when he sees what you’re doing. “Getting any better?” He asks.

You shake your head, frowning. “No, I can’t get any big fish.”

Asra nods, making his way over to you. He sits behind you and gently cups your hand in his own, letting you feel his magic as it pulses up your arm and into your chest. 

“I see what you’re doing.” Asra gives you a sly side smile. “You need to relax, the fish can sense your tension.”

You can’t imagine how you could relax with Asra pressed into you, but you try anyways. Closing your eyes, you take a couple of deep breaths, just like Asra showed you so long ago. When you open your eyes, a large purple fish is swimming curiously around your hands, looking up at you. Faust poked her head out of Asra’s coat, staring at the fish with interest.

“Perfect!” Asra tells you, standing up. “You catch on so quickly, I figured I’d have a least another couple days to think of new spell to teach you, but I suppose I have to think of one before tonight.”

He makes his way back up to the front of the boat, preparing to dock as you draw closer to land. You bit your lip, pulling your hand out of the water and letting the purple fish swim back to the depths of the water.

You’re nervous. Asra doesn’t take you many places. You’ve only just began to talk again and you can’t remember anything before a year ago. When you first arrived in the shop Asra didn’t travel much, but he couldn’t stay away from the many cities and towns that housed the shop’s magic supplies as well as his own.

You pulled into the dock with ease. Asra roped the boat up and paid a small fee to keep the boat watched over while you two are away. After he is finished, he takes your hand, leading you into the city. 

The city is packed with people. With every step it feels as if you might lose Asra in the crowd. Still, he holds on to you tightly, opting to take out others rather than let you go. This city is much larger than Vesuvia and Asra notices your discomfort.

“We’re almost to the inn.” He reassures you quietly, tugging you closer. Sure enough, not long after that you arrive at a small, rundown inn in the outskirts of the city. It’s not as busy here and you finally relax.

“I helped the owner’s wife with a little issue a couple years ago, so they give me a free room whenever I’m passing by.” Asra leads you inside, where an older man sits at the front desk, reading a book of sorts. He looks up when you come in.

“Asra!” The man puts his book down. “I’m glad to see you, it’s been so long since you’ve visited!”

“I got a little busy.” Asra smiles, glancing at you. “How’s your wife?”

“Wonderful, thanks you!” The man beams. “Would you like your usual room?”

“Yes please.” Asra says and the man gladly hands over the key. Asra leads you upstairs, where a nice room waits for you. You marvel at it as you step inside, it’s even bigger than the shop. 

“Like what you see?” Asra teases, coming and hugging you from behind. He rests his chin on your shoulder, watching your face as you look around the room in amazement.

“It’s big.” Is all you can say.

Asra laughs, pulling back. “This entire city is big, shouldn’t the rooms be as well?” He grins, running a hand through his hair. “I don’t need to be anywhere until later tonight, shall we relax for a little bit?”

You like the sound of that. You nod, eager to see what all this room holds.

“Why don’t we go out onto the porch?” Asra opens a door you hadn’t noticed before and steps out onto the porch. You follow, sitting in one of the two rocking chairs. It’s nice and high up so you don’t have to worry about any people.

The view is beautiful, you have a clear view of most of the city. People wander through markets and interact, but you can’t hear them from so far away.

Asra leans over the railing, looking out before glancing out at you. His face turns to an expression of worry. “The city wasn’t too much for you, was it?”

You shake your head, “I’m fine.” You assure him. 

Relief seems to wash over him, “Good, I don’t want you pushing yourself too hard, though. If you’re nervous, just tell me.”

He comes and sits next to you. For a couple of minutes you both this sit in peaceful silence. You like the silence with Asra. When you first started to live with him it was all you had. He would often tell you stories of his adventures or of the people in Vesuvia to fill the quiet, but when there was silence Asra never made it feel awkward or wrong. 

“You’ll have to pick out your own souvenir this time.” Asra smiled, looking at you. He always brought you back a little something from his trips. “I know the perfect place-“

Just then Faust made another appearance. So far she’d been quiet on the trip, presumably sleeping in Asra’s hood as she usually did. She wound around Asra’s arm, looking up at him.

“Time!” She hissed up at him.

Asra blinked, “Oh! You’re right, I have to meet them soon!” He stood, laughing. “Of course, I forgot about completely.” He made his way back over to the door, throwing on his coat.

“Stay...” Faust poked her head angrily from the coat.

“Oh, good idea.” Asra turned to you. “I’ll be back in an hour, you just stay here, Faust will stay with you as well.” He hands Faust over. She happily latches onto you and wraps herself like a scarf around your neck. Asra scrunched up his face, “Will you be okay alone for an hour?” He asks, biting his lip. “I can call it off if-“

You nod quickly, “I’ll be okay.”

Asra nods with you, looking down. “Of course, I’m just too protective.”

“Late...” Faust chimes in.

“I’ve got to go, but I’ll see you soon.” Asra promises, closing the door behind him. Faust looks at you, sticking her forked tongue out at you.

“Snack.” She tells you and you decide it’s not a bad idea. Surely there has to be some food around, right?

You make your way toward what you think is the kitchen and begin searching through cupboards. You find lots of pots and mugs until finally you find some bread. Sitting down at the table, you begin to eat, sharing the bread with Faust, who eats even more than you. When you’re both full you still sit at the table, gently petting Faust.

“Practice?” Faust asks. You hesitate, you’ve never practiced magic without Asra somewhere nearby, what if you got hurt?

Faust senses your hesitation and tilts her head, “Practice?” She asks again. 

It should be alright, you decide, as long as you don’t try anything too risky. You pick Faust up and set her on the floor, sitting down next to her. You’d start with one you know well, a protection charm. Asra made sure it was one of the first you learned.

You close your eyes and focus on Faust, remembering what Asra told you. You envision her safe, almost as if she’s in a bubble, no one able to-

A scream comes from outside, distracting you. Your eyes open in a flash and you feel the spell backfiring, coming right back at you. It hits you square in the chest, knocking you over. 

You sit back up, you’re okay, if a little sore. The important thing was the scream, was the person okay?

Faust slithers onto your lap, “Check noise.”

You stand, letting Faust onto your shoulders. You agree with Faust, you should check if the person that screamed is alright, but Asra said to stay put...

You won’t be long, you decide. You just need to check that this person is alright. That’s what Asra would want you to do anyway, right?

Cautiously, you open the door, creeping down the steps heading outside. You look for the source of the sound, starting down a dark alleyway.

“Dark.” Faust says, hiding in your coat. You pet her as you walk.

“Hello?” Your hoarse voice calls out into the black. When there is no reply you turn around to head back to the room, only to run into someone.


	2. Shadows

“It seems we have a new specimen.” A voice says curiously. You back away from the person you ran into, muttering apologizes. When your far enough away, we can finally get a view of the person. Well, sort of, the dim alleyway didn’t have much light to begin with. The person you ran into merely studies you with their eyes, not acknowledging your apology. After a second they reveal a wide grin full of razor sharp teeth.

“Oh, Valdemar!” A voice sounds from behind the person. “Can we go now? I am so very hungry.”

“Not yet, Volta.” The person, presumably Valdemar, snaps. “It’d be wasteful to leave behind a perfectly good specimen.”

You step back, you don’t like the sound of this. Faust seems to agree with you as she wraps herself around your neck.

“Run!” She hisses.

You don’t hesitate. You turn to flee but are instead grabbed by another person from the shadows. You struggle, but the person holds tight anyways, getting a grip on your neck. You feel as if you’re suffocating.

“Now, now, Vulgora.” Valdemar tilts their head. “I would like to keep my specimen alive.”

The person holding on to you lessens their grip, “Right, but I get to crush the living daylights out of one of them!”

“We will see.” Valdemar replies coolly.

“Oh please, can we go now?” The one you think is Volta comes from the shadows, tugging on her face. “I need snacks!”

You feel a gnawing in your chest when you look at these at people, but you can’t tell what it is. It’s almost as if they seem familiar. Still, how could you know them? This isn’t Vesuvia, you don’t have any memories here.

“Vulgora, you have that one?” Valdemar asks, walking down the alleyway.

“Nice and tight.” Vulgora pushes you forward and you start to follow Valdemar. Volta follows you as well. You can hear her stomach growl in the dark.

You reach a spot where two bodies are crumpled on the ground. That’s where the scream must have come from. 

Valdemar picks up one of the bodies, “Vlastomil, take the other, Volta will eat it if she takes one.” 

“Only a bite.” Volta whines.

Another figure appears from the shadows, reluctantly picking up the body’s arm, “Oh, if we could just leave the bodies for a bit longer, they’d be able to attract worms-“

“Enough, you fools!” Valdemar hisses. “We need these bodies in shape for the incantation.” They continue down the alleyway, extra careful with the body they held.

“Yes, but we will get snacks beforehand, won’t we?” Volta scurries along.

This is bad, you think. They’re performing some kind of magic? Looking at the dead bodies, you assume it’s safe to say it’s not a good kind of magic. You have to get to Asra...

Faust slides up to your ear, “Duck.”

You don’t waste any time on that. You bend your head down as far as you can while being restrained, which confuses Vulgora.

“What are you-“ Before they can get the rest out of their mouth they’re being zapped. They stumble, letting you go.

It’s Asra, his face is cold and angry, you’ve never seen him this mad. When he looks at you, though, his face softens, “Are you alright?” He demands.

You nod and he helps you up. By this time the people that had attempted to take had fled, leaving the bodies behind. 

Asra doesn’t attempt to chase them, instead he holds your face, looking for any sign of scratches or injury. 

“I was so worried, I came back to the room and you weren’t there.” Tears well up in his eyes but they don’t fall. He pulls you close, hugging you tight. “I thought something bad happened to you.”

Well, something bad did happen to you, you just weren’t hurt in the process. After a minute of hugging you Asra calms down, pulling away.

“What were those people doing?” He asked, moving closer to the bodies. 

“Magic.” You whisper, following close to him. You don’t want to be in the alleyway any longer.

Asra scrunches his face up in thought, “Well that’s no good.” He says, biting at his lip. You can this worries him. “Did you get a good look at their faces?”

“One had bandages.” Even now forming sentences was difficult. Internally, curse your tongue. Your thoughts are as sharp as knives but when you speak it comes out about as sharp as a spoon. “Valdemar.”

“Valdemar?” Asra seems shocked. He squints his eyes, “This is... troublesome.”

“Why?” You ask. 

Asra shakes his head, “I want to look more into it before I jump to any conclusions. Besides,” Asra smiles and takes your hand, “Let’s get out of this alleyway.”

That sounds perfectly fine to you. Asra leads you back up to the room, where the two of you get ready for bed.

You set Faust onto the bed as you change. She slithers over to one of the pillows, making sure to make herself comfortable. Asra comes in and laughs, watching Faust.

“Have you already claimed your side of the bed?” He asks, grinning.

“Mine!” Faust replies.

Asra shakes his head, “Does that mean I get the couch?” He chuckles.

You flop down on the bed next to Faust, staring at Asra, “We can make a little room.” Faust sticks her tongue out, seeming to agree.

“Oh, thank you so much.” Asra takes his shirt off, tossing it to the side and climbing in. He wraps his arms around you, pulling you close. You rest your head on his chest, listening to the sound of his shallow breathing. Gently, he runs his hand through your hair.

“Tomorrow I’ll show you around the city.” He promises. “All the good spots too, I know the best places to shop and visit.” You smile against his chest, that sounds wonderful. You fall asleep holding each other, both unaware of what ritual was attempted that night.


	3. Tanzantizite

When you wake in the morning Asra is wrapped around you, his face snuggled into the crook of your neck. Faust seemingly had a similar idea, as she is curled around Asra’s neck. 

You stretch a little, which causes Asra to peek one of his eyes open, “Awake already?” He mumbles. You nod, sitting up and stretching your back. 

Asra wraps himself around your waist, you can feel him smiling into your side, “Noo, let’s go back to bed.” He says. You look down at him and he rests his head in your lap. The morning sun is beautiful on his skin and makes his eyes sparkle.

“I suppose I did promise you a tour of the city.” Asra says thoughtfully, finally sitting up. Faust seems to have been disturbed by this moment, as she angrily slides down Asra and curls into a ball on the bed.

Asra hops off the bed, making his way over to his bag, where he starts to get changed. He throws off his shirt, making a face at you when you glance at his chest.

“Like what you see?” He teases, throwing on the clean shirt. 

You laugh, if only to avoid the question. Asra doesn’t press further though, instead he heads towards the door of the room. “I’m going to make breakfast.” He says.

You hop off the bed and make your way to get changed. You’re excited for breakfast, Asra is an especially good cook. Whenever he comes back from foreign places he always makes sure to bring some food for you to try. Whether it be a small spice to add to your stew or a chunk of meat from an animal you’ve never heard of, it always turns out delicious. 

When you’re done changing you get Faust from the bed. Reluctantly, she wraps around your shoulders, clearly wishing the two of you had stayed in bed a little longer. 

When you enter the kitchen you’re hit with a brilliant yet new smell, Asra must be cooking something special up.

“Food?” Faust says, sticking her face out of your shirt.

“Not yet, but I have a feeling you’ll like it.” Asra says, hunched over a pan. You don’t prod further, mostly because you know he’ll insist he keeps it a secret until you try it.

He brings it over to you when he’s done. It’s unusual looking, you’ve never seen anything like it. Asra grins when he sees your hesitation, “Don’t worry, it’s not anything gross.” He chuckles.

You pick up the fork, dipping into the dish and bringing it to your lips. When you finally taste it it’s.... delicious.

You take another forkful, scooping more of it into your mouth. The food’s amazing, Asra truly is a wonderful cook.

“Make sure you’re actually tasting it.” Asra laughs, getting himself a plate. The of you eat together at the table, Faust talking little bits of the meal off your fork on occasion. It’s not too long until your plate is empty.

“Looks like we’re all set to head out for the day.” Asra says, taking your plate. “I was thinking we’d stop by some of the market stalls and then visit the city’s gardens, I hear the count in this city has a hobby for exotic plants.”

You nod, you like the idea of the gardens, it sounds pretty.

After Asra puts away the dishes you head out. Asra takes your hand as you prepare to enter the crowded part of the city. Although there is a lot of people, there isn’t as many as when you first arrived. You are able to walk down the street without being run over.

You eventually reach the marketplace of the city, where vendors are calling out their prices and waving vegetables, blankets, and other assorted items at you. Asra squeezes your hand tighter, glancing at you.

“Are you all good?” He frets, biting at his lip.

You don’t answer him. Instead, you tug him forward. A certain booth caught your eye. He laughs as he follows you, “Alright.”

You stop in front of the booth, looking at the lavish jewelry. It’s all stunning, each piece unique with different gems encrusted in them. 

The haggled old lady behind the booth steps forward, noticing your interest. “It’s half off for the lovely couple.”

Asra blushes, “Oh no, we’re not-“

“Oh hush, boy.” The lady chuckles. “Let your companion here look.” You steal a side glance at Asra, who still looks flustered, and laugh, turning back to the jewelry.

You run your fingers over a beautiful purple gem on a necklace. The color and shape almost reminds you of Asra’s eyes...

“Find anything?” Asra asks, leaning over your shoulder to look at the necklace. “Oh, that’d look pretty on you.” He says softly before looking up at the lady. “Five gold coins for the necklace?”

“Six.” Says the lady, crossing her arms.

“We’ve got a deal.” Asra pulls his coin bag out before handing over the money. You both walk away from the booth, your new necklace safe in your hands. 

“Here, let me put it on you.” Asra insists. You step away from the crowd and brush your hair away from your neck. Gently, Asra slides the necklace onto your neck, hooking it up in the back.

“Do you know what gem that is?” Asra asks as you turn around. You shake your head at him. “It’s tanzantizite, from the caves just west of here. It’s supposed to make sure you always come back to your loved ones.” He tells you, looking at you with a longing in his eyes. You wonder what’s behind that longing and for a moment you almost ask him when suddenly he clears his throat.

“Well, I suppose we’re off onto our next adventure.” He says, holding his hand out to you. “Shall we?” You take his hand and head off with him.


End file.
